With the CWL, Laskosky moved into the front row

Anne Laskosky

Anne Laskosky knew absolutely no one when she and her family moved to Camrose in 1966.

But then the ladies from the local CWL came to visit.

"This was new to me and I appreciated their visit," remembers Laskosky.

She attended the league's fall meeting and realized she was impressed by the way "they conducted business, the discussion, the very cordial atmosphere. I thought this is a nice bunch of ladies."

A warm, forthright person, Laskosky is astute and self-aware.

"I am not one that usually sits quietly. So when you do that, you get elected to something."

By 1972, she was elected president and held various positions in the archdiocese as well.

What really appealed, then and now, to Laskosky is the group's religious atmosphere.

'These are a nice bunch of Christian women who believe in their faith, who work within the faith, live it, but do think it is a special thing," describes Laskosky. "You just do it because you are a member of the faith."

Like Laskosky says, she does not sit quietly in the back row.

"I am a person who really likes the leadership role community affairs. There was a convenership that works in the community, so I was happy to go in that because then I could spread out into the community."

So it continued – diocesan council, community life again, president, past-president, president of the provincial council.

The diocesan council was a busy council with lots of meetings compared with the provincial council which was not quite so hectic. But she did have to attend national council meetings representing the province.

All those years in local, diocesan, provincial levels of the organization helps a person grow a lot, says Laskosky.

"You meet a lot of people, a lot of different attitudes, ways of looking at things."

That proved a different experience for her because she had lived a self-described sheltered life growing up. But when she was exposed to the many different CWL women, she became aware of other people's problems, opinions, talents, abilities.

"It encourages you to grow yourself when you meet people like that," she says. "You begin to appreciate the talents of all.

"They are all wonderful members who have a wonderful attitude about the world and their communities. It is just such an education and makes you more appreciative, diplomatic, just more Christian."

The 82-year-old is eager to dispel the myth that the CWL is a bunch of "ladies having bake sales.

"They are intelligent with lots to give . . . and it is a great way to meet people in community."

There is also the advantage of meeting like-minded souls and friendships being forged.

Witness Laskosky's testimony.

"Some of my very best friends are (CWL) members, people you have real empathy with, dear, close friends I don't know if I would have met anywhere else."